About Cryptogramma cascadensis E.R.Alverson
Cryptogramma cascadensis E.R.Alverson grows in clumps from a rhizome, and produces two distinct types of deciduous leaves. Sterile leaves are flat, with lobed leaflets that are either oval or diamond-shaped. Fertile leaves are longer, with narrow, thick, finger-like leaflets; their edges curl downward to cover the sporangia located on the undersides of the leaflets. This species has shallow, linear hydathodes, which differs from the pit-like hydathodes of the related species Cryptogramma acrostichoides. It is native to western North America, with a range extending from British Columbia and Montana to California. In this region, it grows in cracks and crevices on mountain talus slopes, most commonly in moist subalpine areas growing on volcanic or granite rocks.
